This is the Red Square painting of Moscow, Russia in 1801. The painting was by Fedor Alekseev. This picture is found at http://www.goodfreephotos.com - a large public domain photo repository. Photo via <a href="https://www.goodfreephotos.com/">Good Free Photos</a>

This photo is under the creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ license.

News of Russian hacking has really been popular lately. You hear the word all the time now through the headlines. The hacking, I’m referring to, has nothing to do with computer hacking. I’m using the slang sense of the word - to carry out successfully the brewing of Russia’s historic beverage: Kvass. Originally, it was a recipe passed through family generations; it is now also made by large companies in Russia.

B. Possible fresh or local ingredients that may be used in the recipe1. Fruits such as apples, strawberries, raisins, mint, prunes or lemon2. Seasonal herbs or spices3. Brown sugar4. Honey5. Birch sap

C. Other possible breads instead of rye1. Wheat,2. Barley3. Buckwheat can be used for the bread

D. Helpful hints and variations1. Best to use soft water or water with low minerals or carbonates similar to what is used to make Pilsner beer2. Try to get bread without so much oil or fat3. Traditional methodsa. Lemons, raisins and open fermenting could be used as found in Russian literatureb. Honey added to sourdough bread in a jar4. Boost the alcohol with extra grains5. BYO’s idea of Toast Ale hits close to Kvass with more alcohola. Dry sliced bread at 195 F for hourb. Toast can be 25% to 33% of total mashc. Break bread into crouton size piecesd. Use oat husks or rice hulls to keep down risk of stuck mashe. Mash for hour in 150‘sf. Ferment with an ale yeast - following ale yeast directionsg. Bottle as normally

E. References and Further Readinghttps://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-brew-russian-kvass/http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/08/14/204859046/america-are-you-tough-enough-to-drink-real-russian-kvashttp://thenourishingcook.com/how-to-make-fermented-beet-kvass/http://russiapedia.rt.com/of-russian-origin/kvas/http://masterrussian.com/russianrecipes/kvass.htmhttps://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/keSEp6Jtpn/kvass/https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/Cy7SB7zy61/russia/http://allaboutbeer.com/liquid-bread-brewers-experiment-kvass/http://blog.culturesforhealth.com/ancestral-fermentation-bread-kvass-made-without-commercial-yeast/http://www.kvas.lv/en/all-about-kvass/brewing-kvass/http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/05/kvass-liquid-sourdough-beer.htmlhttps://byo.com/stories/issue/item/3432-toast-ale